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Thursday, March 19, 2009

A Page in the Life of April from Cafe of Dreams

I am so excited to welcome my next A Page in the Life guest. Have you had a chance to meet April from Cafe of Dreams? If you haven't, here's your chance. And if you have, I thought I'd offer you a little more of a glimpse into April's life.

April is one of the sweetest and nicest people I know in the blogging community. She always has a kind word to say and is one of the first to offer me encouragement when I need it. I appreciate all of the times she has stopped by Musings of a Bookish Kitty to leave a comment.

Cafe of Dreams is a fitting title for her friendly blog. I feel right at home there. It's like sitting down with a steaming mug of hot cocoa (with a few marshmallows added in for good measure) to chat about books with a friend. She shares her thoughts on books, has guests stop by and visit, and introduces me to new authors and books I have yet to try.

Please welcome April to Musings of a Bookish Kitty!

Literary Feline: Welcome, April. I am so excited to have you here! Thank you for dropping in and answering a few questions. I thought we'd start off with an easy question: how do you like to start off your morning?

April: Hmmm, how do I like to or how do I actually?! LOL! My ideal way to start is to be able to get in a couple of cups of coffee, a bit of quiet peace, do a bit on the computer or read for a while. In reality, I get up and fight to wake my daughter up to get ready for school (her bus is here at 7:30). Once she is off, if my son is still sleeping, I will sneak in a cup of coffee and some relaxing computer time or reading. Otherwise, if he is awake, we eat breakfast, usually watch a bit of Scooby Doo while cuddling together in the chair and then either play or/and start on laundry.

Literary Feline:Besides reading and books, what are some of your other interests, hobbies or passions?

April: Blogging, lol! Reading other people's blogs, playing games on pogo.com, playing DS (I am a BIG game fanatic - especially word and puzzle games). I have to of course say my children, they are my life and my breath. I enjoy browsing on Amazon and just bopping around on the computer. My newest thing has been Twitter and I enjoy Facebook. Whenever I get the chance, I love to be near the water - there is something that absolutely centers me and brings peace to me when I am sitting near and listening to the water. Someday, I would LOVE to learn to knit - that has always been one of those goals in my life. I have met so many awesome bloggers with such great knitting talent! Music is and always has been a passion of mine. I don't play anything, but listening just settles me and brings a smile to my face - it makes the worst of things/chores bearable, lol.

Literary Feline:How did you get started blogging about books?

April: Initially, I started with the idea of having a way to just keep track on the books that I read throughout the year. Maybe also add a bit of my own personal writing and everyday type things, recipes, etc. Once I got into reviewing for authors and publishers, things just took off and I am loving every minute of it!! Blogging has become such a relaxing, fun and creative outlet for me, that when I get busy and don't have time to blog, I feel a bit lost (I am also bad about seeing, thinking or doing something and then think to myself "oh, I have to blog about this, lol").

Literary Feline:Has blogging impacted your reading? If so, how?

April: In all honesty, I would have to say that it has, just for the fact that while doing the virtual book tours and book review requests, I have opened myself up to an entire array of genres and books/authors that I may not have otherwise read. It has been wonderful, fantastic and tons of fun. I also find myself reading faster, since I have begun blogging.

Literary Feline: What types of books do you like to read? And do you blog about every book that you do read?

April: I do blog about every book (unless I don't get it finished, in which case, if it is for a tour, I will still blog about it, but not give my rating) I honestly love most types/genres of books. I think that Paranormal, Romantic Suspense and Cozy Mysteries will always hold a special place for me. They are probably my favorites and what I love to relax with.

Literary Feline: Do you have any reading routines, rituals or habits?

April: I really don't. I am a mood reader, so I guess that may affect my reading a bit. I do love my Sunday mornings when my hubby takes care of the kids and I get to take a hot bubble bath and just read for a good hour. That is a piece of heaven for me!

Literary Feline: How do you pull yourself out of a reading or blogging slump or what steps do you take to avoid that from happening?

April: I find that if I am reading constantly, I can get burned out and need to take a couple of day's break (which shocks me! lol) Once I do that, I seem to be fine. Otherwise, I just got through my enormous mountain of books until something piques my interest and that will bring me out of a slump. The same goes for blogging. I have started to take the weekends off as a break and that really helps that slump/drudgery feeling that creeps up every now and then. Also reading other people's blogs makes me more excited to write on my own, if I am feeling a bit lost, as to what to write.

Literary Feline: Do you have any advice or tips for your fellow bloggers?

April: My biggest piece of advice is to just have fun! If you are having fun with what you are writing and blogging about, readers will feel your enthusiasm and want to come back for more. Also, try to blog every day, or as much as you can, that seems to be a big helper in the way of picking up returning friends/readers. Visit the blogosphere, make friends and just enjoy yourself! Be creative, say what you want and just be yourself.

Literary Feline: What are you reading right now? Do you have any book or author recommendations?

April: I am reading Avenging Angel by Kim Smith on my Black Berry as an eBook, I just finished listening to Too Close To Home by Linwood Barclay (loved it!), so am deciding what to listen to next, and I am reading The Saga of Beowulfby R. Scot Johns, finishing up Shattered Reality by Kimberly Cheryl and starting It Happens in Threes by Denise Robbins.

As far as recommendations, where would I ever start?! lol For Young Adult, I would highly recommend Across the Pond by Storyheart/aka Barry Ava and The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice, I absolutely adore Cleo Coyle and Sammi Carter for Cozy Mysteries, Jodi Picoult for Fictional Lit., I can't wait to read her new one!! I loved Change of Heart and Nineteen Minutes (both favorites!), I love Janet Evanovich for a fun read, as for Suspense, I would say David Morrell and Joe Hill. Ok, I will stop now. I could seriously go on and on and on and on, lol!

Thank you so much, Wendy, for the honor of being a part of your delightful series "A Page In The Life" I am truly honored! I also thank you for being such a great friend - you are one of the first blogs and blogger friends that I met in the very beginning and you are just so awesome!

Literary Feline:I think you are pretty awesome too, April! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

Hi Wendy!! Thank you so much for including me in your delightfully fun new series!! This is just such a great idea! Also, thank you so much for your kind words, they mean so much and just completely made my day! You are the best!

Thanks for doing this. It's always fun to 'meet' a blogger I didn't know before. APRIL - I wanted to learn to knit for several years and couldn't find anyone to teach me. So, I bought a couple books and found a couple good websites and taught myself. It is really not as difficult as it seems in the beginning. Knittinghelp.com is a good place to start.

I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Thank you for taking the time to visit Musings of a Bookish Kitty. Don't be shy! I would love to hear from you. Due to a recent increase in spam, I will be moderating comments for the foreseeable future. Please be patient with me as it may take a few hours before I am able to approve your comment.

Contributors

At the age of five, Literary Feline (aka Wendy) was diagnosed as a fabulavore. Due to the low story content of movies and television, she has required a steady supply of books to provide her sustenance. She currently resides in California with her loving husband, adorable daughter, and two affectionate cats. Literary Feline has broadened her nutritional sources by reviewing books. Please note: Literary Feline is not a bibliovore. She's not eating the books for goodness' sake.